Influence of reconciliation programmes on the reconciliation attitudes of war-affected adolescents in Northern Uganda

Whether post-conflict reconciliation programmes are able to change hostile behaviours is not known. This study sought to assess the influence of reconciliation programmes on the reconciliation attitudes of war-affected adolescents in two communities in Northern Uganda. Four hundred and forty five adolescents within two communities, one with and the other without interventions were assessed for exposure to war-related and daily stressors and place of residence using hierar- chical regression analysis to predict reconciliation attitudes. Adolescents in the non-intervention community recorded more positive and also more negative reconciliation attitudes; exposure to daily and war-related stressors was more positively associated with increasing reconciliation attitudes among adolescents in the non-intervention than those in the intervention community. Overall the programmes recorded limited impact on reconciliation attitudes, perhaps due to the pervasive adverse social situation of the people. Conclusion: there is a need for multi-pronged, collaborative programme efforts targeting holistic recovery programmes with focus on changing negative reconciliation attitudes. Key words: reconciliation attitudes, reconciliation programmes, war-affected adolescents, Northern Uganda

Political science · Psychiatry · Psychological intervention · Residence · Sociology · Stressor · Clinical Psychology · Demography · Global Peace and Security Dynamics · Health and Conflict Studies · Migration, Health and Trauma · Psychology

• Influence of reconciliation programmes on the reconciliation attitudes of war-affected adolescents in Northern Uganda

  Open Access•Benjamin Alipanga, Maarten De Schryver et al.•AVRUG-bulletin/Afrika Focus•2016

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